Spike's shoulders slumped as he stood at the entrance to the dorms. As if his day wasn't stress - and arousal - inducing enough, he was now being housed among the students...

The mostly naked and seemingly eager to hug him students.

He sighed and hefted up his trunk. 'Maybe if I'm quiet enough, I can find an empty room before they find me.' Taking a deep breath to try and settle his nerves, he went in. A small floor plan near the doors revealed a pair of elevators just around the corner. 'Ok, Spike, you can do this. Just move in...and pray there's one down here.'

Unfortunately, he was so preoccupied with trying to be quiet, he missed the telltale 'ding' of elevator doors opening, followed by light footsteps. "Spike?"

Said dragon squawked in alarm when he heard the voice nearby, almost dropping his trunk in the process. His head swiveled around to see Ember standing there.

"Oh...E-Ember, it-it's you." He stuttered, trying to catch his breath, especially now that he was getting a better look at her. Like the majority of dragonesses, she was fairly gifted in the curves department, straining the sling bikini she had on with breasts that seemed to be reaching F-cups and an ass that almost screamed to have his fingers sink into it.

"I take it you and Cadance just got back from the Heights." she chuckled a little. "You probably should know, soon as they they found out you'd left, Pinkie started planning a party for getting you out of that part of town."

"A...a party?"

"Yeah, she's always looking for an excuse to throw one. Let's just say she takes the term 'party girl' to a whole new level." she then looked at his trunk. "Um, not that I'm complaining; I mean, it's great that you're out of there, but why are you in the student dorms?"

He sighed. "According to Cadance, the teacher rooms are all full; apparently Svengallop lived off campus. So, she's having me take the empty room on B-5's floor."

"Oh." her eyes eyes widened slightly. "Oh....ohh. Well, that's gonna be something to see when they find that out."

"Yeah...right now I just wanna get unpacked before...." his gaze snapped down the hall when they heard the sound of a door closing. Thankfully, whoever it was didn't see him. "....Before I get spotted."

"Well, luckily for you, I know the floor like the end of my tail." Ember nodded towards the elevator. "Come on, I think I know when room she meant." Thankfully one of the elevators was already there so they were able to get in quick. After getting it started, she turned towards him, a slight hint of shyness in her expression. "Um, I didn't get a chance to say thanks earlier...for standing up for me to Svengallop."

"Ah, the guy was an asshole."

"Still," She leaned against the wall of the elevator. "I'm part of an exchange student program that's trying to improve pony/dragon relations, and it's kind of a long-term personal goal as well, so throwing a teacher through a wall for an insult - racial or otherwise - wouldn't have earned me any points."

"Well, hopefully none of the others'll be like that." Spike replied, flicking a bit of lint off his trunk. The two relaxed into a somewhat comfortable silence until the elevator came to a stop.

"Ok...um, I probably should've warned you; the girls can be a little frisky when we aren't in class." Ember said as the doors opened and rock music could be heard from the room opposite them. "Especially since it's the weekend now." she peered down the hall, and after seeing it was clear, motioned for him to follow her. "Luckily, most of them are probably relaxing in the hotroom right now."

"The what?" he asked, keeping his voice down.

"It's sort of a common room each class has on their floor. Works as a kitchen and entertainment room. Ooh, and the hot tub built in the floor."

Spike blinked. Hot tub...? They had their personal freaking HOT TUB?? His body went on auto-pilot as he tried to wrab his head around a college - much less one located in a place like this one - that was capable or willing to get the students luxuries like that. The buffet-style cafeteria was one thing,but this?

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to think about it before his field of view was quickly filled with a round, blue object barely an inch from his nose. It didn't take much to tell him exactly what it was: Ember's backside. Spike gulped and felt his face rapidly heating at the thought of almost walking right into the plump, squeezable-looking, succulent...

'SHUT UP, DAMMIT!' he mentally snarled at his bubbling hormones.

'C'mon, man, look at that fine rump! You know you wanna give it a bite!' a small part of his mind weedled

'Grandmother in a thong.' he sighed in relief as the feeling quickly retreated, screaming, back to its corner. "Ember, what happened? Why'd you stop?"

"I-I thought I saw some....someone coming o-out of a room." She managed to get out, grateful that he couldn't see the intense blush she was sporting due to the heat of his breath on her rear.

"Oh." he quickly backed up, and in an attempt to kill the sexual tint in the air, said the first thing that came to mind. "You said it doubles as a kitchen?"

"Y-yeah." she replied, quickly taking the moment to try and calm down as she resumed leading him down the hall. "Kind of...the designers assumed everyone'd eat at the cafeteria so there really wasn't actual space allocated for any kitchen stuff. But, Pinkie's an aspiring baker, so she and her sisters brought a camping oven and a couple mini fridges with them when they arrived. We all tend to use it sometimes, especially if someone doesn't get up in time to make the cafeteria for breakfast or they're too busy studying to do for dinner. Have to use a lot of paper plates and disposable cooking pans, but it works." She stopped at a door midway down the hall. "Here we go. Right next door to me and Gilda. Just so you know, Twilight's room is right across the hall, Fluttershy's is on your left, and me and Gilda on the right in case you need someone to talk to."

"Right." while it was a bit of a relief that there was someone in the dorms who knew, he still had to fight the urge to sigh somewhat resignedly at the fact he was going to be surrounded by a group of attractive ladies his age who were also his students. "Thanks, Ember. Well, I better go ahead and unpack. Night."

"Night." she lingered a bit and watched him carry the trunk in, setting it down by the bed. Once again a blush crossed her face when he took his jacket off before the door finally closed. Now alone, she let out a shuddering exhale "Haa...down girl..." she whispered, catching herself as a hand drifted down to her mound. "Damn dragon hormones. Ok, deep breaths, Ember, relax; you know you've got a chance with him. Just gotta let him get comfortable then get his attention, while the others think he's a kid at least." she headed to her room to let off some steam. "Last thing I need is competition when they find out."

A short while later, Spike had managed to get some of his things unpacked. "Gotta ask if there's a dry-cleaner around." He muttered, frowning at what looked like a greasy splotch on the sleeve of his suit jacket. That also reminded him that he was going to have to go get some groceries. Even though he tended to get up early, he didn't know if the cafeteria operated on weekends. That and he was going to get the munchies anyway.

After a change into some more comfortable clothes, and grabbing what would've been his rent money, Spike ventured back into the hall. Thankfully, it was still empty. Tiptoeing back to the elevator, another floor plan on the wall (he guessed to help new and/or forgetful students) showed him the floor was basically a pair of t-intersections that wrapped around the common room, which made his trek back out far easier. It wasn't long after until he was reappearing back on the sidewalk

"Chocolate-covered sapphires...how does that dragon eat this?" Gilda shook her head before putting it in the cart. She didn't complain when it was her turn to go to the store, given that this was one of the few non-specialized grocery stores that catered to multiple races, but deep down she wished Ember would get her stuff a bit more often. "All right, now to see if they restocked the licorice."

"Amethyst pound cake, nice!" a voice she quickly recognized spoke up from nearby. Gilda wheeled around in time to see a small purple dragon walking off towards one of the nearby aisles. She noticed he wasn't in the business suit from earlier today, "Well, at least the kid's out of that part of town. Still feels weird having..." she trailed off when he suddenly loaded almost two dozen cans of deviled ham and a few jars of dill pickles into his cart. 'The hell!? she asked herself. 'I thought the Pies were just seeing things when they said he put all that stuff away during lunch!' the memory of an awestruck Pinkie popped up and she had to fight a giggle at Limestone almost having the same expression.

She was quickly yanked from her thoughts by at least three boxes of ramen cups being added to her teacher's cart as he weaved through the store, followed by a few cans of artichoke hearts and hearts of palm. A couple bags of marshmallows and beef jerky joined them before. Her own shopping was almost forgotten while she followed him in a haze of surprise and curiosity, keeping her distance as well. Multiple containers of peanuts, chips, even a box or three of cereal were added.

By the time Spike had finished his trek around the shop, he was having to pull the cart behind him since he couldn't see over the stuff he'd picked out. Gilda could only stare in shock at what she'd seen; that had to be at least three hundred bits worth of stuff. Granted, everyone tended to buy for themselves, but still...! However, it was where he was heading next that quickly brought her back to reality; a corner of the store that was separated from everything else, the large windows showing shelves of colored bottles and jugs...

The liquor section.

Gilda's eyes bugged out when he park his cart by the entry and strode right in. "W-what the heck is he doing?? No one underage is even ALLOWED in there!" She'd tried to get some beer a couple times, but still had another year before she was and got shot down. Throwing caution to the wind, she rushed over, getting as close to the entrance as she could. While she was too far off to hear Spike or the clerk, she could see them easily enough through one of the windows. What she saw wasn't what she'd expected.

"...seriously?" The clerk asked, holding up Spike's ID. "Kid, you really expect me to believe this is genuine?"

Spike rolled his eyes a little. "Check your species register."

The clerk glanced down at a sheet of paper under the counter. "Um...huh, forgot about that for male dragons. Sorry about that, dude...but I guess this ain't the first time?"

"Won't be the last, either. Don't worry about it, you're just doing your job."

"New around here, I take it?" He asked, handing the ID back.

"Yep, just finished my first day at the college."

The clerk did a double-take so fast, Spike could've sworn he heard a joint pop. "Dude...no way! T-the college?? The all-girls college right over there??" he pointed in the general direction.

"Yep." he sighed.

The clerk quickly looked around before dropping his voice some. "Um...is-is it true about clothes being completely optional there?"

"Pretty much. I found that out the hard way." He twitched a little and tried to put the image of the first mare he ran into there out of his head

"Dude...! Seriously!? You're hanging out with hot gals who can be naked whenever they want??"

"I'm a homeroom teacher. They're attractive, yes. But they're my students. And now I've learned that I have to room with my class in the student dorms."

"Come on, man. You've landed a gig most other stallions -pony, griffon, or otherwise - would die for! Hell, if they found out, probably half the guys who work here would see you as a celebrity!"

Spike just stared at him blankly for a moment before ticking things off on his hand. "Except that one: most of them think I am a little kid, and therefore they 'feel safe' around me. Two: I'm their teacher. And three: several of them are cuddlers."

"Oh." the clerk's expression of awe quickly faded when things finally soaked in. "O-ohh...s-sorry, dude. Didn't think about that. But, why don't you just tell them you're older?"

"Aside from the ones who know about male dragon growth, do you really think they'd believe me saying I'm really in my early twenties?"

"Oh yeah; got a point."

"Besides, they're all going to find out sooner or later, so the best I can do is have a measure of professionalism and show I'm taking this seriously."

"Well, all I can say is good luck, dude."

"Have a feeling I might need it." Spike looked over at the shelves. "Gimme a bottle of Zapp Black Label."

"Zapp Black?? You sure, dude?" The retrieved bottle of dark green liquid clinked lightly on the counter. "This' some of the strongest booze we sell."

Spike chuckled and paid for the drink. "Trust me, the stuff dragons need to get hammered is considered toxic by pony standards."

Outside the liquor section, Gilda could barely believe what she'd seen; Spike'd managed to buy alcohol with no trouble! The clerk'd looked skeptical for a moment before checking a paper under his counter, then everyone was ok! She knew how seriously this place was about making sure you were old enough, so there was really only one explanation for what she'd seen.

Spike was older than he looked, definitely old enough to get hooch. She quickly raced around a display when she saw him coming back into the main store. ' No way...no way! Is he seriously older than me? Maybe older than most of the class!?' her mind raced as she watched him head to the checkout. It was then that, a thought popped in Gilda's head.

Given the tough girl/rebel image she like to put out, plus the fact she had a tendency to be a bit on the intimidating side she'd never exactly been with anyone, though she and Rainbow Dash had experimented once.

But now there was a guy who, if she guessed right, was close to her age, even though he didn't look it. And, she had to admit, was kind of cute. ' Hmm, wonder if he's into griffons. If not, then I can definitely help change his mind.' She thought, a light purr escaping her.

Author's Note

Sorry bout the delay, guys. Between being sick and real life poking its nose in all the time, i haven't had a whole lotta time. But now I should be able to get back on track.